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Why did you participate in Day of Silence?
April 12th, 2012Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
& Kyle Auger
Sports Editor
“To show respect for these who feel they are trapped and feel like they cannot be themselves in society. I want them to know I support them.” -Freshman Brandon Jurewicz
“It’s an awareness thing. We just want people to notice and to realize that there is a problem that needs to be fixed.” -Senior Jeff Collard
“I believe everyone should be able to express themselves however they like without being judged.” -Freshman Jackie Benoit
“It’s important to spread awareness.” – Junior Melanie Walsh-Mager
“Everyone deserves to feel comfortable everywhere they go, if me being silent helps that, then it’s the right thing to do.” -Senior Alicia Desrochers
“I am a strong believer in equality.” -Junior Tia Ryder
Blanchard Middle School Auditorium Renamed For Katie Enos
April 3rd, 2012Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
Taken from May Katie Enos Rest in Peace Facebook page
March 26, Article 27 was proposed at the town meeting to rename the Blanchard Middle School Auditorium in Katie Enos’ name. The meeting, which was originally held Saturday March 24, was continued on Monday night due to several high interest topics that were not able to be covered.
Enos, who passed away in June of 2010, attended Blanchard. She spent countless hours in the auditorium singing her songs “Mission” and “Like a Flame.” She also was involved with the Blanchard school band and played many instruments including piano, viola, saxophone and guitar.
Edward and Marian Enos, Enos’ parents, also partake in activities in the auditorium as well.
“Lately, the Blanchard Auditorium is where Marian and I go to give out a character award in Katie’s memory at the eighth grade ceremony,” said Mr. Enos.
Jackie Benoit, a freshman at Westford Academy, was a close friend of Enos. She attended each meeting, waiting for Article 27 to be mentioned.
Over 300 people attended the meeting Monday night. When Article 27 was voted on, it passed unanimously. Benoit admits she even started to cry.
“I was just so happy,” she said.
The Blanchard Middle School’s auditorium is now officially named the “Katie Enos Auditorium.”
Another upcoming event that will honor Enos is April 5, her birthday. This is Annoy the Fashion Police Day, where everyone who knew her are invited to wear plaid and striped clothing, a style Enos often wore.
The school committee,who proposed the idea to rename the auditorium, has formed a naming committee. The naming committee will be in charge of any sign that will be placed in front of the auditorium, but as of right now, Mr. Enos says he isn’t sure when that will happen. He is just happy the town has chose to honor her in this way.
A sweet new treat
March 12th, 2012Kathleen McAleese and Lauren Cullen
Staff Writers
The Sugar Cupcake Shoppe, located near the “four corners” on 110, is a sweet new treat for Westford. As business skyrockets, the shop has gained more and more popularity from locals.
“Business is unbelievable,” said the owner Kate Kelly.
Kelly and her baking assistant Andy were both up at 2:30 AM to start the day baking and get the shop open for 9:00 a.m. Recently, they have changed their week-day hours, so they will now be open at 11:00 a.m. and close at 5:30 p.m. The business does not have a kitchen on-site and all the baking is done in a rented Billerica kitchen. So in the afternoons, cupcakes are usually sold out.
The extreme popularity started for the Sugar Cupcake Shoppe when they were featured in the Westford Patch and an annual chocolate festival. The shop also has a Facebook page, on which Kelly posts daily flavors and opening times. Both social media and cupcake shows on television have all helped bring in customers.
Going into the opening of her shop, Kelly had minimal expectations. She knew, however, that she always wanted to own her own business. Prior to baking, Kelly had experience in finance, law, and then small culinary jobs at country clubs and restaurants.
Kelly said she came up with the name of Sugar Cupcake Shoppe herself.
“I knew I wanted a ‘u’ to be a cupcake,” she said. “I pondered about it for a while, and then it just came to me.”
Our first visit to Sugar Cupcake Shoppe was less than satisfactory. The vanilla-based cupcakes didn’t taste quite right, with a gummy texture.
“We’re still trying to get the vanilla recipe down,” said Andy. “We are playing with three recipes, still searching for the right one.”
However, the second trip over-compensated for the first batch blunder. The cupcakes were fantastic.
Our favorite cupcakes were the cream-filled chocolate cupcake, a chocolate based cake with vanilla cream in the middle, almost like a Hostess cake. It had a fluffy texture but remained moist. The sweet filling was just the right amount and the smooth chocolate ganache on top added a rich touch.
Another favorite was the S’mores cupcake, a graham cake with oozing chocolate in the middle and toasted marshmallow topping. Although the marshmallow topping was slightly gummy, the cake had excellent flavor and texture. The chocolate filling complemented, not overpowered, the delicately flavored cake. This cake was even better put into the microwave for fifteen seconds.
Other good ones included Apple Spice, Blueberry Crumb Cake, Concession Stand, and the Almond Joy cupcakes.
A sweet vanilla frosting with just the right amount of cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top was found on the Apple Spice. The cake was spiced just enough and had sweet pieces of apple incorporated in the batter.
The Blueberry Crumb cake had a yummy vanilla butter cream with a delicate fluffy cake with fresh blueberries inside.
M&M’s and Snicker candy pieces were fun surprises in the Concession Stand cupcake. It was topped with a vanilla frosting and a Cracker Jack accent.
The Almond Joy cupcake was a fluffy chocolate cake with coconut in the batter. The cake was not overly sweet but still remained chocolatey. It had a vanilla frosting and almonds on top. This idea was both creative and yummy.
The shop carries the same basics everyday: vanilla chocolate, chocolate vanilla, peanut butter cup, mocha, chocolate squared, and vanilla squared. They also offer different intriguing flavors every day.
Although a little on the pricey side at $3.25 per cupcake or $34.00 for a dozen, these delicious cupcakes are worth every penny.
Overall, the experience was positively delicious.
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Ski Team Wins Big
February 22nd, 2012By Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
Despite the lack of snow this season, Westford Academy’s Alpine Ski Team team has a major win behind them, the Dual County League Championship Race, which was held on February 10th.
This win came after a lot of hard work by the entire team, said Senior Captain Jessica Bishop. Along with one of her co-captains Jess Webb, Bishop said the pair have been working hard since freshman year to earn the title.
“Winning the DCLs was honestly amazing,” said Bishop. “This was absolutely the most fun I had out of my four years of WA alpine ski team. I also personally had my best season so needless to say, it couldn’t have been better.”
For the freshmen on the team, the win came with a lot of excitement.
“I felt very happy to win because it was my first year on the team,” said freshman Jackie Benoit. ” I tried to make it so my first year was strong.”
Most of the members said that the team did very well, most likely because they meshed as a group very well.
“It was a really happy moment for all of us because we’re really close as a team,” said Meghan Potter, sophomore.
Bishop says some of the female skiers that really shined this season were sophomores Natalie Bishop and Alexa Sullivan, along with freshman Katie Stokes. Both Bishop, Sullivan, Stokes, and Webb worked well throughout the season, and went undefeated the entire season.
“I want to say thank you to my team for being amazing and awesome,” said Bishop. “They truly made my senior ski season special.”
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DECA Dance flops
February 9th, 2012
Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
On December 10, DECA hosted a “Beauty and the Beast” themed dance. This dance was held in place of their annual Halloween dance, which was cancelled because of the power outage.
Unfortunately for DECA, there was a low turnout.
“30 people went,” said freshman Marissa Dilworth. “It was awkward but we made it fun.”
Michelle Porras, also a freshmen, said even though there wasn’t a ton of people, it was still fun if close friends went as well.
“I thought it was kinda fun since it was most of my friends,” said Porras. “But it would have been better with more people.”
With the no grinding rule drama leading up to the dance, students said they believed that was the cause of the low turnout. Students said they showed their dislike in the rule once again, by not going to the dance. If students continue to not attend dances, they say it really only hurts the school.
“Less and less people are going to the dances,” said Dilworth.
More students agreed, saying the rule was the reason they did not attend. With the results from the last dance, students are left wondering what will happen if the dances continue to get low numbers of attendees.
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Cheers For Cheerio
February 2nd, 2012Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
Victor Neal, otherwise known as “Cheerio”, is well known in the Westford community for driving to sporting events and taking photos of them. He has been involved in the town for years. These days, you can find him driving around town in a bus, car, or even a Moped on his way to take more photos of Westford’s athletes and students.
Cheerio says after he is done driving around town, he visits Westford Academy.
“After that I go the the guidance office to see Mr. Parent,” said Cheerio. “He needs me, and I need him.”
Students said the first thing that comes to mind when they think of Cheerio is the photos he takes of sporting events, and how he even tries to get to the freshman team’s events.
“I think it’s thoughtful how he comes to games, even freshman games and takes pictures,” said freshman Abby Chirokas. “I love Cheerio!”
Cheerio said he has also taken pictures, but started taking pictures of sporting events in 1989, his first year driving buses. He was even there when the boys soccer team won the state championship.
Cheerio said his main goal at WA is to spread his positive attitude and get involved in the school. He does this by driving to sporting events where he takes pictures of the games and players. Cheerio also takes part in spirit week at WA, and memorial activities for Liv Marchand and Katie Enos.
In addition, Cheerio has been to almost every Graduation and Last Night celebration since it was held at the Blanchard Middle School. One of the years he missed was due to a job in Belgium. This year, he plans on attending Last Night, but cannot attend graduation due to the graduation of his granddaughter.
To show their appreciation for Cheerio and all he does around Westford, the class advisers give him a senior tee-shirt every year.
Cheerio said that often parents will thank him for taking pictures of their children throughout their high school careers. In fact, other schools and towns have asked for Cheerio to photograph their events as well.
Cheerio says he plans on keeping his schedule busy with WA events until he is no longer capable of doing so.
“WA is great place to be associated with,” said Cheerio.
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Student Attitudes Toward Fashion Attract Attention
January 6th, 2012
Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
Most students at Westford Academy believe girls have one thing in common; they dress to impress. But exactly who are they trying to impress?
“I think girls dress to impress everyone,” said freshman Julia Kinney. “But at the same time, girls dress to impress guys in the sense that they want to come off as a certain way, whether that be as athletic or intellectual or maybe a little more free-spirited.”
More students say they think girls dress to impress male students as well. They believe by girls dressing a certain way, it catches the attention of guys, whether it is intentional or not.
However, one student says he believes what girls wear is due to their relationship status.
“If they’re single, [girls dress for] guys,” said freshman Kyle Dutton. “But if they are in a relationship, they probably dress for girls.”
Other students agreed with that answer. They said it made sense that when girls are trying to catch a male’s attention, the obvious way is to dress in certain clothing.
However, those students said that when a girl dressed like that, it said something about what type of person she was, which might not be the best characterization of her.
On the contrary, some male students said they didn’t think of a girl in any bad way if she wore an outfit that was meant to catch their attention.
“I think it shows they have confidence,” said freshman Nate Furness.
Female students generally said they think they are dressing to impress other girls with their fashion choices.
“I think girls dress mainly what is called in right now,” said freshman Sharon Jiang. “It most definitely impresses girls when they dress a certain way because it is half of how you are judged.”
Because of these judgements made, deciding what to wear everyday is an important decision to most girls. Kinney said she does care about what she wears, but at the same time she knows she is dressing for school which is more important to her then fashion.
“Of course I care what I look like,” said Kinney. “I want to look approachable, not intimidating, I’m at school to learn and not to show off my fashion.”
Most guys at Westford Academy who the Ghostwriter has talked to said they have an opposite approach to fashion. In contrast to the girls interviewed, the boys have a minimalist approach.
“I don’t give a crap about what I wear,” said sophomore Jack Brady.
The general consensus from guys is that clothes have two simple purposes, to keep you comfortable and covered.
Girls and boys at Westford Academy obviously have different opinions about clothing. Generally speaking, girls dress to impress, and boys could care less.
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Parents on Facebook
December 16th, 2011
Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
You log on to your Facebook account, and see a new friend request. Obviously you get a little excited to see who it is. But hold on, it is from your mom. Do you accept it?
According to consumerreports.com, eighteen percent of parents are friends with their children on Facebook.
Some students at WA say their parents require them to accept the request, or else they will not have an account.
“I have to be friends with my mom,” says freshman Michelle Porras.
Some students admit to making their status updates private to their parents. It’s as easy as clicking a box. However, some students did not even know you could do such a thing.
Then there are Facebookers who want to friend their parents.They say that they want to make sure their parents know they can trust their kids to be responsible enough to handle something like Facebook.
“I am[friends wih a parent on Facebook] because I choose to be,”said freshman Jack Leeber.
The general consensus from parents is that they want to make sure their kids and their kids’ friends are appropriately using the site.
“I am friends with both of my daughters, ” said Karen McAleese, mother of a freshman and a junior at Westford Academy. “I do periodically check their profiles. I see who they are friends with, make sure conversations are appropriate and make sure security settings are in place.”
Mary Kohan, mother of a freshman at WA, said she is friends with her children on Facebook but does not go through everything on their profiles.
“I want to know who my children are talking to,” said Kohan. “But not everything, because I just want to keep tabs on my children.”
Parents’ curiosity for the online activities of their children is growing, just like the number of parents on Facebook.
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WA Grad Offers Acting Advice
December 7th, 2011By Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
On Wednesday November 22, Westford Academy graduate Katie Lawson came back to host a workshop for the theater department. 13 actors and actresses from WA’s theater program attended the workshop in total.
Lawson, a graduate from WA’s class of 2007, went on to Fordham Universityat Lincoln Center’s theater program. She now is a professional actress in New York City. Her most recent role was Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The workshop Lawson ran was to help students with monologues, which are speeches presented by a character to express the character’s thoughts aloud. The monologues the kids were helped with were mostly from WATA’s competition show, the Hairy Ape.
The workshop started off with Lawson leading a discussion on Constantin Stanislavski’s fundamental questions for creating your character. This led each person to question themselves on who are they, where they are, how they going to get what they want, and who they are talking to.
Lawson had each student run through their monologue a few times and helped them build upon the characters they were trying to portray.
“I believe that to really reach the meat of the text and the individual’s performance, a one on one approach is necessary,” says Lawson. “Therefore, everyone had the opportunity to work through the monologue with me coaching on the side.” Other student actors also helped by offering advice.
They also discussed creative ways to begin the monologues and practiced exercises to let their imagination “fly.”
Another topic the workshop covered was how to present oneself in an audition or interview situation.
“The workshop made me much more comfortable with the monologue I am currently working on,” said junior Leah DeTolla.
Other student actors also helped by offering advice.
“The feedback was good,” said Mr. Towers. ” We have some students preparing for conservatory auditions, which are auditions that mainly give entrance to acting schools. She has already been through this. So Katie came back to her Alma mater to share with us about them.”
“The workshop helped me so much with this specific monologue. I am so glad I went,” said DeTolla.
Lawson says she believes some the actors and actresses who attended have potential to be professional actors one day.
“Westford Academy Theatre Arts produces an extremely high caliber of theatre artists,” says Lawson. “Mr. Towers instills the importance of true dedication and passion in his students. They understand the essential fusion of natural gifts and hard work.”
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October Snowstorm Inconvenience for WA Students
November 10th, 2011Lauren Cullen, Staff Writer
The snowstorm on October 29 caused a substantial inconvenience, especially for students at WA.
The annual DECA Halloween Dance had to be postponed, and is currently scheduled to be held in December with a different theme.
A number of sports games had to be cancelled. In total, 10 games had to be cancelled, including several junior varsity games, a boy’s varsity soccer game, and a varsity football game. The varsity football game has been rescheduled for Friday, November 11. 7 games were postponed throughout the week.
Because of the power outages across town, some students said they had a long, cold week at home. Others said they had to seek refuge at a relative’s house.
“I went to my grandmother’s house,” said Keilani Nebesky, “ I slept, ate and did some homework,” she added.
Some people reverted to their childhood toys for entertainment during their 6-day break.
“Me and my friend found my old Barbies and set up Barbie houses,” said Nicola Cunningham.
All in all, students interviewed seemed to get by pretty well. Others may have a different story to tell.
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“5 Women” Play Brilliantly Done
November 7th, 2011Lauren Cullen, Staff Writer
In this witty black-box production directed by senior Audrey Seraphin, the main focus is the behind the scenes look of a group of bridesmaids on their not so special day.
While flipping thru the playbill, I noticed a “Content Advisory Warning.” The warning said the production contained “explicit language, sexual innuendo, and drug usage.” This discovery added an air of mystery of what was to come in the next hour and a half. Within a few minutes, the lights dimmed and the spotlights shined on the bedroom furniture in the middle of the room.
The start of 5 Women had most of the audience on the edge of their seats, with several impatient knocks on the door. Suddenly an actress burst through it, and ended up hiding under the bed when another character came quickly through the same door. As the beginning of the show was intended to do, it hooked the audience.
A few minutes into the production, the Content Warning was proved to be obscenely true. The characters were using drugs and swearing repetitively, almost more than needed. You could tell that there was more going on with the characters then just their appearances, enticing the spectators even more.
As more characters were introduced, the audience got their opinions of the big day, and the people attending such an event. One of the main characters, Frances, who was played by freshman Emily Du, added great humor to the first act. When the other characters, Meredith and Trisha, played by Jenie Michael and Meredith Eaton, offered her drugs, Du’s character repeatedly refused, saying she couldn’t because she was a Christian. That really got the audience laughing.
In the first act, the characters Meredith and Trisha were talking about several other unintroduced characters. This made it a bit confusing to keep up, especially since later in the play these people were more prominent.
Towards the end of the act, another two characters entered. The first was Georgeanne, played by Braley Degenhardt. She ran into the room screaming about how a man had mistreated her with a bottle in her hands, and then disappeared into the corner. Then came Mindy, played by sophomore Renee Craig. Craig was very natural and played Mindy brilliantly.
Craig had the audience laughing extremely hard when in the second act, her character Mindy impersonated a Southern pageant girl. Craig kept her performance up throughout the act and kept the audience entertained. One could say that she even outshone all of the other actresses.
Compared to Craig’s performance, some of the other actresses seemed stiff. This was probably because this was the second show of the night after a long break with little to no rehearsal time.
It was clear the audience was more hooked in the second act than in the first. Braley Degenhart’s character Georgeanne entered in the second act highly intoxicated, and her drunken antics were very entertaining. Emily Du’s character Frances returned and also had the audience laughing with her innocent Christian ways.
Toward the end of the play, however, things turned dark and gloomy when the group of bridesmaids learned of a horrible secret from the character Meredith’s past. The emotions from the girls were very relatable, and the audience’s faces read pure sadness.
At the very end, Meredith Eaton’s character Trisha showed her true colors when she was trying to entice Karun Kannan’s character, Tripp Davenport, into doing what she wanted. In these last minutes, Eaton played her role excellently.
The show ended with a kiss between Tripp and Trisha which was abruptly interrupted by the other 4 bridesmaids. They all seemed happy and forced Karun’s character Tripp to take a group photo. After the sound of the camera was heard, the lights quickly turned off and 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress came to an end.
“I thought today was a strong performance and the audiences’ reactions kept us going,” said actor Karun.
The overall performance was great, with bits of comedy and sorrow. The amazing points of the actor and actresses added to the production as well.
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Tailgate Hopes to Rally WA Spirit
October 20th, 2011Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
On October 21, Westford Academy will be having a homecoming spirit tailgate party.
The tailgate party is open to any group in Westford. Athletic Director, Dan Twomey says that smaller groups from Westford have done events like this in the past, but he wanted to incorporate everyone in a tailgate party during spirit week.
“I think that if we have 10-15 different groups the event will be a success. As many spots will be available as needed,” said Twomey, describing the available parking spaces for the event.
The tailgate is being held in a select area of the parking lot before Westford Academy’s varsity football hosts Wayland High School.
This will be an alcohol-free event and Westford police will be on site. However, Twomey says all school rules still apply.
“Westford police will be on site. Hopefully there will be no problems,” Twomey said, regarding any issues.
The group with the most “WA School Spirit” will win a gift card for one hundred dollars. This gift card will be awarded to the winning group at the end of the first quarter.
“It will be nice to get all the students involved,” said Twomey.
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